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University of Hawaii at Manoa 2009

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Press Coverage for Five Weeks of Free Films at the KIDS FIRST! University of Hawaii at Manoa Film Festival

Free film festivals for kids at UH

Two back-to-back, kid-friendly film festivals at the University of Hawai'i offer families five Sundays of entertainment — 18 flicks in all — for free.The UH KIDS FIRST! Film Festival screens on June 14 and 28, and July 12 and 19; the EarthDance Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival for families screens on July 26. All films are at 3 p.m. in the UH-Manoa Art Auditorium.

"Especially today, it's tough to be able to afford to take an entire family to see a movie," said UH KIDS FIRST! festival director Ann Brandman, who personally chose each flick. "This (festival) offers quality films for free. ... All the way around, it's a good deal."

The film festival, presented by the UH-Manoa Outreach College, features nine films, aimed at toddlers to tweens. Films include "The Velveteen Rabbit" (ages 5-12) on June 14, "Dragon Hunters" (ages 8-12) on June 28, "The Hidden Treasure of Wompkee Wood" (ages 2-8) on July 12 and "Heidi 4 Paws: A Furry Tale" (ages 5-12) on July 19.

A project of the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, KIDS FIRST! offers sneak peeks at new films from major studios, plus classic films, independents and shorts in a variety of styles, including animation and live action. The films are evaluated by juries of adults and kids and must meet the KIDS FIRST! criteria: no gratuitous violence, no racial or cultural bias, no inappropriate content and no condescension toward children.

The festival travels to more than 120 locations nationwide each year. Last year, the locally-curated UH festival garnered the Best Community Film Series award at the national KIDS FIRST! Best Awards in Hollywood.

The UH KIDS FIRST! festival will be followed by the EarthDance Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival. Aligned with the UH-Manoa Outreach College's Sustain Your Brain summer theme, the EarthDance film festival segment for families, on July 26, is a juried compilation of nine national and international films — comedies, documentaries, animations and adventures that celebrate the natural world. A compilation of EarthDance films for adults screens at 7 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Art Auditorium.

EarthDance family films include the animated comedy "Zoologic," the documentary "Girl Stars: Suryamani, The Forest Activist" and the animated film "Roberto the Insect Architect."

Reach Zenaida Serrano at [email protected].